Safety engine starter



Ap'ril 1930. A. TAYLOR SAFETY ENGINE STARTER Filed 0G12. 4, 1928 All' Irl/14 Patented Apr. 8, i930 'l Y i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Appiieanon vinea amber 4, 192s; serial No. 310,225.

This invention relates to cranking mechadrawings accompanying and forming apart nism for internal combustion motors, and has of the specification. v for an object the provision of an improved Referring to the drawings: Y mechanism for cranking internal combustion Figure l is a top plan view of a starting 5 motors, this mechanism being ofsuch a nature mechanism yembodying the principles of the that it is adapted to disengage the crank from present invention. The mechanism is shown the crankshaft in the event of kicking back 'coupled to the forward end of a conventional of the motor while being cranked, with aconcrankshaft. Y A i sequent decrease in the liability of injury to Fig. 2 isa longitudinal, medial,vertical sec- 10 thev operator. Hence, the present invention tional view, the plane of section being indi- G0 constitutes an improvement in the device of cated bythe line 2-2 of Fig. l and the direcmy co-pending application, Serial No. tion vof view by the arrows. The operative 272,7 47 filed April 25, 1928. parts of the devicev are shown in the positions Another object of the present invention fis assumed thereby when the crank is disen- .15 the provision of means for positively ejecting gaged frointhe Crankshaft-, e5 the manually operable crank from that posi- `Fig. 3 is a'fragmentary view similar to Fig'. tion in which it is engageable b-y a pawl toef- 2, but showing the operative parts in the pofect rotation of the crankshaft of the motor sitions assumed thereby when'the crank is couthrough the rotation of the crank. Hence, the pled to the crankshaft as when manually A '20 device of the present Vinvention is capable .of starting the motor by turning the crank. "l0 operating more eiiiciently in positively pre- Fig. aisatransverse, vertical sectional view venting backward rotation of the crankwhen taken upon the line 4 4 of Fig; 3, with the dithe crankshaft of the motor rotates backwar faction of View indicated by the arrows, as when the motor kicks back. 'A Fig'. 5 is a transverse, vertical sectional view A further object is the provision of astalttaken upon the line 5-5 ofFig. 3, with the 'l5 ing' mechanism Of the general CharaCtel dedirection of view indicated by the arrows. scribed, which is particularly adapted for use In terms of broad inclusion, the `starting in conjunction with internal combustion mo- .mgchanispm 0f the present invention C Omtors Serving aS prmeIIlOVGIS OI MCGIS and prises a stub shaft journalledin axial align- 30 which is adapted to be installed upon tractors ment with the Crankshaft of an. internal-comte in tlieplace of the ordinary CraDlS-Wth Which bustion motor. Meansare provided for coul they We fegula'ly equipped pling the adjacent ends ofthe stub shaft and A Still further Obie@ is the PI'OYlSlOn 0f a crankshaft, whereby .the crankshaft ymay be motor starting mechanism which is adapted rotated in a forwa'rd direction through' the d t0 be installed* P011 Vehicles: 'egardiess 'of stub shaft to effect starting of the engine.y A H5) whether they are in process of manufacture Y Crank is ournued at the other end of the 91' hav@ been Pevlusly Completed and placed, stub shaft in axial alignment'therewith, and '111561.77106'. Y is capable of a limited degree of longitudi- It 1S a Sun furthe? Ob] ectof my mventlon to nal movement inrespect thereto. Means are il improve upon devices heretofore employed Vd f d fornteplockla the Crankshaft nnd fortlie purposes stated, and todo so in such a lPtrobl ft f i d@ ,L t, toa ev Vway as to produce a starting Vii'iechanism -Sl S 9 or 'forgar muidlfnf D which is'simple and rugged in structure, relaan ,means are r 161i PTO e or lsenl; tively inexpensive to manufacture, and which gaglng the 1nler10d11lg melns when tlm Si? ssspeedy and positivem Qpewtlon shaft rotates in. a reverse direction, with tae e5 The invention possesses otherobjects and result that the crank is not similarlyreverseadvantageous,featurespsome of which, with ly rotated. In addition, `further means are 'those enumerated, wi-lllbe set forth in the folprovided forl moving the crank out of that polowing' description oft-he inventions particusition in whichthe.inter-locking means may y 5p vlar Vembodiment which is illustrated in the become effective, with theresult that the l,op- WJ eration of the crank disengaging means is made more positive.

Specifically describing the invention in the most practical embodiment thereof of which I am at present aware, I have provided a housing 6 which is preferably in the form of half of the frustum of a cone. A disk 7 serves as a base for the housing 6, being secured thereto in any convenient manner such as by riveting; or, it may be cast integral therewith. Suitable means for attaching the housing 6 in operative position, are provided, such as a plurality of bolts 8 or their equivalent, extending through the base 7 into a portion 9 of the engine frame or other suitable supporting structure associated with the engine upon which the starting mechanism is to ybe installed. The housing 6 should be so disposed that an aperture 11 in the base 7 is in axial alignment with the crankshaft 12 of the motor. Moreover, the housing is preferably disposed so that the housing 6 extends forwards from the base with its open side up. A journal 14 is provided at the outer end of the housing 6 within a ournal-box 16, and a conventional journal-box cap 17 is held Yin position by nuts 18 threaded upon studs'19 extending through the cap 17 and threaded into theV vjournal-boxV 16. A stud shaft 21 is revolubly disposed in the aperture 11 and is journalled adjacent its forward end in the ljournal 14. For this purpose the stub shaft is provided with cylindrical portions 22 and 23 respectively. Each of these cylindrical portions 22 and 23 is longer than the associated aperture 11 andjournal '14 respectively, with the result that a limited degree of longitudinal movement of the stud shaft 21 is possible without displacement cf the stub shaft 21 from its journals. An enlarged cylindrical portion 24 adjacent the cylindrical portion 22, and an enlarged square pertion 26 adjacent the cylindrical portion 23, serve to limit this longitudinal movement.

Means for couplingthe stub shaft 21 to the crankshaft 12 are provided in the form of a conventional crank ratchet 27, the inner face of which is provided with a plurality of inclined notches 28 within which a pin 29 rigid with the crankshaft 12 may be seated to effect forward rotation of the crankshaft 12 byturning the crank ratchet 27. l Due to the inclination of the notches 28, as soon as the motorV of which the crankshaft 12 is a part,

' starts, causing the'crankshaft 12 to rotate forward faster than the crank'ratchet 27, the pin-29 will slide upon thesloping surface .31 of the inclined notch 28 within which it is engaged, causing the crank ratchet 27 to be slid longitudinally of the crankshaft 12 and out of engagement with the pin 29.

The crank ratchet 27 is rigidly connected to the stub shaft 21 by means of a rod 32 upon one end of ywhich the crank ratchet 27 is secured and upon the other end of which threads 33 are formed to be engaged within complementary threads in an axial bore 34 in the inner end of the stub shaft 21.

A crank 36 is journalled within an axial bore 37 in the outer end of the stud shaft 21; and a flange 38 which is removably secured to the outer end of the stub shaft 21 by machine screws 39, is adapted to retain the shaft 41 of the crank 36 within the bore 37 vby bearing against a shoulder 42on the shaft 41 of theV crank 36. The shaft 41y of the crank 36 is shorter than the bore 37 within which it is journalled, with the result that axial Y of; a pivot pin 46 within the squared portion 26 of thestub shaft 21. l The slot 48 in the squared portion within which thepawl 44 ismounted, extends inwards at right angles from one side 51 of the squared portion .26, and is positioned atone side of a plane perpendicular tothe side 51 and passing through the center of the shaft 21. lt is pesi-y tioned upon that side of the plane which leads as the shaft 21 is rotating forwards, this direction being indicated by the arrows F onFigs. 4 and 5. The slot 48 extends into the bore 37 so that one corner 52 of the dog 44 is in position to engage the splines 43 and effect forward rotation ofthe stub shaft 21 when the shaftf41v of the crank 36 is rotated in a forward direction. However, being at oneside of the center, the pawl 44 will be lifted from its spline-engaging position should the crank 36 be rotated in the opposite direction'. This, of course, will also be the result if the stub shaft 21 should rotate in a stub shaft 21 inwards within its vjournals 9 and 14 until the crank ratchet 27 engages the pin 29 within certain of the notches 28.

Then, byrotating the crank 36 in a clockwise direction, the leading side of one of the splines 43,` will engage the side'of the pawl 44 at its lowest corner 52, to eifectsimilar rotation of the stub shaft 21. Since the stub shaft 21 is connected to the crankshaft 12v through the crank ratchet 27, the crankshaft 12 will also be rotated in .the manner necessary to effect starting of themotor. Vhen 1.

the motor starts, the forward rotation of the crankshaft 12in respect to the crank ratchet '27, will cause the disconnection thereof. by Vpushingvthe crank ratchet axially forward until'the pin 29 disengages fromgthe notches 'L7-Basar 28. The ratchet and spline connection b etween the shaft 41 and the stub shaft 21, serves to further prevent rotation of the crank 36 bythe crankshaft l12, because should it so happen that the disconnection of the crank ratchet 27 from the crankshaft 12 should be so delayed to cause rapid forward rotation of the stub shaft 21, the bottom of the pawl 44 would be engaged by the trailing side of one of the splines 43, with the result that the pawl 44 would be swung upwards on its pivot 46 and disengage the crank 36 from the stub shaft 21. In other words, the pawl 44 normally connects the crank 36 to the stub shaft 21 so that the stub shaft 21 can not rotate backwards in respect to the crank 36, but which permits the stub shaft 21 to rotate forward in respect to ythe crank 36.

Means are provided for preventing re-engagement of the pawl 44 with the splines 43 after once being disengaged, until such engagement is intentionally carried out by the operator. A spring 53 is under compression between the inner end of the shaft 41 of the crank 36 and the'inner end of the bore 37 inthe stub shaft 21. A plate or disk 54 is attached to the inner end of the shaft 41 in position to define the inner ends of the grooves between the spline teeth 43. Obviously, this plate 54 holds the pawl 44 out of engagement with#` the spline teeth, except when the plate 54 is brought into register with a notch 55 in the bottom and side of the pawl 44; and the spring 53 normally holds the shaft 41 and plate 54 at their outer eX- treme of movement so that the plate 54 is not in register with the notch 55.

Means are lprovided for automatically releasing the pawl 44 upon backward rotation of the stub shaft 21 so that the crank 36 is not similarly rever'sely rotated. A ratchet gear 56 is mounted for rotary movement upon the cylindrical portion 24 of the stub shaft 21. This ratchet ear is provided with a plurality of teeth 5 which slope backwards Vand are engaged by a pawl 58 which is mounted for'pivotal movement upon a pin 59 rigid with the plate 7. The connection between the pawl 58 and teeth 57 is such that the ratchet gear 56 is permitted to rotate in a forward direction, but is prevented from rotating in a reverse direction. In order that the assembled stub shaft 21, crank 36, and ratchet displacement from the cylindrical portion 24.

The bore of the ratchet gear 56 is provided with a plurality of ratchet teeth 63, the leading faces 64of`which are disposed substantially tangentially of the bore of the gear 56. A cam v67 is carried by the pawl 44 upon the opposite side of the pin 46 from the portion y52 of the pawl which engages the splines 43.

This cam 67 is urged outwards between two of the-teeth 63 by a spring 68 under compression between the bottom of the pawl 44 and the bottom of the slot 48 in which it is mounted, so that when the stub shaft 21 rotates reversely in respect to the ratchet gear 56, the cam 67 will be depressed by the sloping surface 66 of one of the teeth 63, against ythe action of the spring 68, resultingin the with* drawal 'of the pawl 44 from engagement with the spline 43. Consequently, the stub shaft 21 will be free to rotate without similarly rotating the crank36. Furthermore, when the pawl44 is withdrawn from engagement with the vspline 43, the plate 54 is simultaneously` tially radially of the gear 56, and the t'rail-V "ing edges 66 of which are disposed substanwithdrawn from the slot 55, permitting `the f spring 53 to press the shaft 41 of the crank 36 axially outwards, with theresult that it will be impossible for the pawl 44 to reenygage the spline 43 until the crank 36 is again intentionally pressed inwards by the operator. i

To start an engine upon which the improved starting mechanism of the present invention isl provided, the operator Vfirst presses theA crank 36 inward until the plate 54 lcomes into register with the notch 55, whereupon the spring 68 will pivot the pawl the pawl engages one ofthe spline teeth 43 andV the cam 67 is disposed between two of the ratchet teeth 6,3v in the ratchet gear 56. The

engagement of the vpawl 44 with the spline,

locks the stub shaft 21 to the crank for rotation t-hereby. Continued inward pressing` now be started by turning the vcrankv 36 in the well known manner.

The disengagement of the crank 36 from fthe crank shaftvv 12 after the motor starts,

either. at the crank ratcl1et27 or at the spline and pawl connection 4,3, 44, has already been described. .Should it yhappen however, that the motor kicks back, i. e., causes Vthe crank Y shaft 12 to rotate in a reverse direction, this reverse rotation of the crank shaft will cause the stub shaft 21 to be similarly reversely rotated. vThe pawl 5'8\however, being in en gagement with the teeth 57 of the ratchet gear 56, will prevent the ratchet gear 56 from rota-ting ina reverse direction, whereupon the stub shaft 21 will rotate backwards in respect to the gearV 56. This willbr'ing one of the inclined faces 66 into engagement with the cam 67,causing the depression'thereofagainst l .44 about the -pin 46 until the corner 52 of `the action of the spring 68,andthewithdrawal of the pawl Afrom the spline 1&8, and also disengagementof the plate 54 from the notch 55,V permitting the spring` 53 to press Athe crank 36 forward in respect to the stub shaft 2l, and permitting the stub shaft 21 to rotate mechanism comprising a stub shaft engageable with-said crankshaft, a crank journalled and mountedfor longitudinal movement in axial alignment with said stub shaft, a plurality 0f spline teeth on said crank adjacent the inner end thereof, a plate secured to the inner end of said crank defining the inner ends of the grooves between said teeth, a pawl pivotally mounted on said stub shaft in position to engage the teeth of said spline, means urging said pawl into engagement with said spline, means urging the crank; outwards from the stub shaft, said plate being adapted to engage within a slet in the pawl and hold the crank against longitudinal displace-Y ment when *the pawl is engaged with the spline, and means operable when the crankshaft rotates iii a reverse direction for withdrawing the pawl from engagement with the spline and plate. Y Y

2, A starting mechanism for an internal combustion engine having acrankshaft, said mechanism comprisinga stubshaft engageable with said crankshaft, a crank journalled and mounted for longitudinal movement in axial alignment with said stub shaft, a plurality of spline teeth on said crank adjacent the inner end thereof, a plate secured to the inner end of said crank defining the inner ends of the grooves between said teeth, a pawl pivotally mounted on said stub shaft in positien to engage the teeth of said spline, means 'urging said pawl into engagement with said spline, means urging the crank outwards from Ythe stub shaft, said plate being adapted to engage within a slot in the pawl and hold the crank against longitudinal displacement when the pawl is engagedvwith the spline, and means operable when the crankshaft rotates in a reverse direction for withdrawing the pawl from engagement with the spline and plate, said plate engaging the pawl and v holding it out of engagement with the spline when the crank is moved axially outwards of the, stub shaft.

3. A. starting mechanism for an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft, said mechanism comprising a stub shaft engageable with said crankshaft, a crank journalled and mounted for longitudinal movement in axial alignment with said stub shaft, a plurality 'of spline teeth on said crank adjacent the inner end thereof, a plate secured to the inner end of said crank defining the inner ends of the grooves between said teeth, a pawl pivotally` mounted on said stud shaft in position to engage the teeth ofsaid spline, means urging said pawl into engagement withsaid spline, means urging the crank outwards from the stub shaft, said plate being adapted to engage within aj slot inthe pawl and hold the crank against longitudinal displacement vwhen the pawl is engaged with the spline, a ratchet gear mounted for rotary movement upon said stub shaft, an eccentric portion of said gear adapted to engage said pawlgand move it to spliiie-disengaging position upon backward rotation of said stud shaft within Vthe ratchet gear, and aV second pawl associated with said ratchet gear to hold it against backward rotation.

ll. A'st'arting mechanism-for anrlint-ernal combustion engine having a crankshaft, said mechanism comprising a stub shaft engageable with said crankshafta' crank j ournalled and mounted for longitudinal movement in axial alignment with said stub shaft, a-plui'ality of` spline teeth on said crank adjacent the inner end thereof, a plate secured to the inner end of said crank defining the inner ends of the grooves between said teeth, a pawl Ypivotally mounted on said stub shaft in p osition to engage the teeth of said spline, means urging said pawl into engagement with said spline, means kurging Athe crank outwards ,from the stub shaft, said plate being adapted to engage within a slot inthe pawl and hold the crank against longitudinal displacement when t-he pawl is engaged with the spline, a ratchet gear mounted' for rotary movement upon said stub shaft,` a plurality of teeth on the bore of said ratchet gear, the trailing face of each of said teeth being arranged substantially tangentially tothe bore of the gear, a cam on said pawl in engagement with said ratchet geark teethV to effect removal of said pawl from engagenientwith said spline when the stub shaft rotates backward within said ratchet gear, anda second pawl associated with said ratchet gear to hold it against backward rotation. I 1 Y y 5. In a cranking mechanism, a pair of revolubly mounted and axially aligned shafts, a series of .teeth on'oneof said shafts, a pawl pivotally mounted on theother shaft andengageable with said .teeth to lock the shafts together for rotation in one` direction, means for withdrawing said pawl from tootheiigaging position upon` reverse rotation'oftlie shafts, and a projection on said toothed shaft .engagea'ble with said-:pawl to holdV the pawl out of engaging position, said toothed shaft heing movable tolrelease the pawl from the projection. t e

Y 6. In a cranking mechanism, a'pair of revclubly inountedand axially aligned shafts, a

series of teeth on one of said shafts, a pawl pivotally mounted on the other shaft and engageable with said teeth to lock the shafts to-- gether for rotation in one direction, said pawl being offset from the axis of the shafts to permit unrestricted reverse rotation of one shaft in respect to the other, means for withdrawing said pawl from tooth-engaging position upon reverse rotation of the shafts, and a projection on said toothed shaft engageable with said pawl to hold the pawl out of engaging position, said toothed shaft being movable to release the pawl from the projection.

7. In a cranking mechanism, a driving shaft and a driven shaft revolubly mounted and axially aligned, said driving shaft being axially slidable in respect to the other shaft, teeth on one of said shafts, a pavvl on the other shaft, a spring urging said pawl into engagement with said teeth to lock the shafts together for rotation in one direction, means for withdrawing said pawl upon reverse rotation of said driven shaft, and a spring urging said driving shaft out of that position in which the pawl is engageable with the teeth.

8. In a cranking mechanism,adriving shaft and a driven shaft revolubly mounted and axially aligned, said driving shaft being axially slidably in respect to the other shaft, teeth on one of said shafts, a pawl on the other shaft, a spring urging said pawl into engagement with said teeth to lock the shafts together for rotation in one direction, a proj ection on said toothed shaft receivable Within a notch in said pawl when the pawl is in toothengaging position, means for withdrawing said p awl upon reverse rotation of said driven shaft, and a spring urging said driving shaft out of that position in which the projection is in register with said notch.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

Y ALEXANDER TAYLOR. 

